A Kentucky high school teacher is highlighting the generosity that one of his students recently displayed toward his fellow classmates in hopes that others will be inspired to do similar acts of kindness.
Winston Lee, a history teacher at Letcher County Central High School in Whitesburg, Kentucky, recently witnessed one such act in the unlikeliest of places. Lee was pleasantly surprised when he noticed a handwritten note one of his 11th graders had written at the bottom of his WWII test sheet.
It reads: “If you could, can you give my bonus points to whoever scores the lowest?”
Overwhelmed by his student’s gesture, the teacher shared the positive incident with others.
“One of my guys, a straight A+ guy, offers up his 5 bonus points to someone in need. Anyone. Totally offering up what is rightfully his, his earning, to any peer that may have been struggling especially hard the day of the test,” Lee wrote.
Lee says that he was taken aback by the selfless request. The day before, the whole class took an interactive review game. As expected, the unnamed student did well, earning him a total of 5 bonus points for the World War II exam.
The compassionate student scored 94 on the exam, and a bonus of 5 points could have bumped up his score to 99 had he not chosen to donate it to a classmate in need.
It may have been the first time he received such a request, but Lee noted that it wasn’t out of character for the boy.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” he told Good Morning America. “He is the type of kid that would often show compassion in the classroom.”
Giving up extra points is something that the teacher didn’t expect from a high schooler, let alone from someone who was an honor student. As an educator, Lee understands how crucial bonus points are in an examination, especially for a difficult one.
The 5 bonus points ended up going to a female student who scored 58 points – two points short of the exam’s passing score of 60. She would have failed the test, but her classmate’s extra points saved her grade.
He ended the post by encouraging people to be “a little more like this young man.” At the time of writing, the post has garnered 97,000 reactions and 67,000 shares.
Many people commended the unnamed student for his generous act. However, several others disagreed with the boy’s request, saying that it wasn’t the right way to help someone struggling with grades.
Lee defended his decision by noting that he teaches in a Title I school, which means that some of the kids there live in low-income households.
“Not all are great test-takers or in a comfortable situation at home that allows them to focus on studying,” he said.
Nevertheless, this boy’s heart was in the right place, and his kind act definitely deserves to be lauded!
Sources: AWM, Good Morning America
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